Appearance / Overlay Issue.

ID:2311695
 
Nov 4 2017, 7:38 am
(See the best response by FKI.)
Code:
mob/var/list
    equipment = list("Hair" = null, "Headgear" = null,"Head" = null,
                        "Shirt" = null, "Torso" = null,
                        "Right Hand" = null, "Left Hand" = null,
                        "Pants" = null, "Legs" = null, "Feet" = null,
                        "Accessory 1" = null, "Accessory 2" = null)
Equipment
    parent_type = /obj
    var
        stored_appearance = null
        slot_type = ""
        equipped = null

        show_icon = 1
        level_requirement = 0



proc
    Equip(mob/m, Equipment/item)
        var/slot, list/equipment = m.equipment
        if((slot = item.equipped)) //unequip branch
            equipment[slot] = null
            item.equipped = null
            m.overlays -= item.stored_appearance
            item.stored_appearance = null
            item.overlays -= 'Equipped.dmi'
        else
            slot = item.slot_type
            var/len = length(slot), Equipment/found, slotname
            if(text2ascii(slot,len) == 35) //if slot ends in "#"
                slot = copytext(slot, 1, len)
                var/count = 1
                while( (slotname = "[slot][count]") in equipment)
                    ++count
                    if(!(found = equipment[slotname]))
                        slot = slotname
                        slotname = null
                        break
                if(slotname&&count>1)
                    slot = "[slot][count-1]"
                    found = equipment[slot]
                    slotname = null
                else if(slotname &&count==1)
                    return
            else
                found = equipment[slot]

            if(found)
                equipment[slot] = null
                found.equipped = null
                m.overlays -= found.stored_appearance
                found.stored_appearance = null
                item.overlays -= 'Equipped.dmi'
            
            equipment[slot] = item
            item.equipped = slot
            m.overlays += (item.stored_appearance = item.appearance)
            item.overlays += 'Equipped.dmi'
            
            m.equipment = equipment
            m.update_stats()


Problem description:
Everything works up to an extent, there are no issues until the user relogs or logs out or logs in (Only tested on the local-client). You can remove and add the equipment to the overlays but, if you relog once its equipped.You are incapable of removing the overlays from the user, I do not understand why this is the case and have confronted it on the BYOND Discord chat several times. If anyone could shed some light, I'll appreciate it.
Nov 4 2017, 9:04 am
Are you saving the player with their overlays as they log out?
Nov 4 2017, 9:16 am
That is correct
Nov 4 2017, 9:16 am
I'm saving the whole entire mob rather than picking and choosing what to save from the mob.
Nov 4 2017, 12:06 pm
Best response
Responses stay getting nuked trying to use BYOND + mobile browsing.

Long story short: What it sounds like your problem is, is you are saving the mob's overlays, which results in a "flattening" of their appearance. This means once they log back in, the mob and what were once their overlays/underlays are all one icon. Equipping/un-equipping the equipment that would normally control the additional appearances no longer works at this point.

Ideally I think you want to have a proc that handles updating/refreshing player appearances and call said proc upon character loading.
Nov 10 2017, 9:58 am
In response to FKI
If OP would like an example of how to handle overlays/underlays and saving them, take a look at my Foundation demo. I haven't touched it in a long time now, and I would probably add a little more to it at this point, but the concept is still the same.

http://www.byond.com/developer/Spunky_Girl/sp_foundation

Look specifically at the Item System for how equipment is handled (which OP is pretty much on the same page already), and the Saving System (on how to work around the issue at hand).